This invention lies in the field of bindings for snow skis and is directed to apparatus for facilitating the attachment of skis to ski boots. It is more particularly directed to apparatus for pre-loading the latch means of the binding and restraining it until the boot is set in position and releasing it to snap into latching position.
Since skiing has become increasingly popular throughout the world, many different types of ski bindings have been proposed and put into use. Early bindings were simple straplike devices which provided a rather unreliable connection between boot and ski, with frequent separation on bumps and hard turns. Such bindings were gradually improved until the connection was adequately secure. However, this raised a different problem. In the event of a fall, the skis would not release and tangling of the skis and digging into the snow frequently caused severe leg and ankle injuries.
This problem was overcome by the modern types of releasable heel and toe bindings in which the toe of the boot fits into a toe cap and the heel is clamped by a latch which is spring pressed against the boot heel or some abutment attached to it. The force of the spring pressure is adjustable to accommodate skiers of different weights and skills. The spring load is sufficient to prevent separation during normal maneuvers but yields to the excessive force generated in a fall and releases the ski. Another type achieves the same general results but utilizes side clamps swinging laterally to grip the side edges of a plate attached to the sole of the boot. Usually the loading spring or force unit is located just behind the aft end of the boot. Since it must be adjusted from no-load to loading condition after the boot is in position the skier must stoop and bend awkwardly to reach the unit and adjust it. This is not too difficult at a suitable location at the top of a slope but when a skier has fallen in mid slope and is replacing his skis while attempting to maintain his balance on a steep incline it becomes very difficult.
Several heel and toe types bindings have been proposed which permit a skier to step into the binding and cause it to clamp automatically by forcing a lever on the apparatus to lower under the boot heel and cause the entire mechanism to swing against an over center spring arragement. This requires an undesirably high degree of force to be exerted when the skier is in a delicately balanced position, and it also calls for a multitude of links, levers, cams and springs, all of which adds to the cost and likelihood of damage or failure.